Funerals in France

As folks who have illnesses, D. and I have been discussing all the awful things in life, funerals and wills. We were also discussing funerals in France, realizing that in all the driving we do through the country, we don't see funeral homes in the way we see them here, but they must exist. So a little research was necessary, to discover costs involved, about 3000 euro, or less if it involves cremation, about 1700 euro, and that costs have declined due to the economy. Apparently, France changed the laws in the last few years to force competition in the hope of driving prices down, which did not succeed until the economy crashed: http://worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/dying-in-times-of-crisis-the-rise-of-budget-burials/burial-mortician-cremation-deal-business/c1s10044/#.URXC0hzRyU4